Posts Tagged ‘death’

The Edge

 
The Edge

standing at the edge
feeling far below
the great tides
the ebb and flow
the rise and fall
the come and go of centuries
wave by wave
day by day
might incarnate
the power of indifference
the surge of perfect apathy
and I
as insignificant as the grain of sand
bounced and tumbled
dragged helpless in the undertow
and that crest of froth
rises up in beckon
the silk of azure [...]

This Night

…as you read this Christmas poem, with its taste of bittersweetness, see it not in a dark light — but rather, embrace it as a tale of a long-awaited journey, to be with the one beloved…

digital collage entitled: “Christmas Tear” - by: rob kistner © 2011
 
This Night

brushed my shoulder on this morning’s train
then at the [...]

The Journey

 
The Journey

beckoned to the final tide
called forth by the ferryman
spirit stirs to the distant voice
that draws you to the journey
caught still in this mortal realm
soul resigned to embarkation
time folding in upon
as slow you approach the vessel
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
• linked at Magpie Tales
____________
image by Mostafa Habibi

Silent

 
Silent

do you hear the autumn wind
stirring in the branches
do you hear the leaves rustle
do you hear my breath
whispering your name
do you hear my heart beat
do you hear my tears fall
or is it silent
silent as the light-less realm
that hauntingly engulfs my soul
silent as that night
when apples spilled
on the broken stair
where rail eluded
your grasping hand
silent as your [...]

Hope

 
Hope

I lift myself quietly
very quietly
from beneath the sheets
soiled with neglect
soaked with my nightmares
I am again awake
from another dark night
that began with fear
fear I might not survive
and ends in sorrow
realizing I did
I rise
make my way carefully
past the shallow-breathed crumple
that lay milky-eyed
in a heap on the floor
un-moving
save a twitch of the head
a head which now harbors demons
where [...]

Silence - two reflections

These two poetic reflections are unrelated, beyond their focus on silence. The first reflection here considers what it is to fall into the deepening silence of old age. The second reflection looks at the silence that causes, and also results from repression…

 
1ST REFLECTION
Endings

shrouded by evening in waning october
as autumn tumbles towards winter
is [...]

Aeropachydermicide

Aeropachydermicide – recklessly causing the death of someone or something by actions that result from the foolish belief that one is so smart and powerful that one can make an elephant fly.

 
Aeropachydermicide

somewhere between our petrochemical insanity
and our reckless dance with fractured atoms
we believed we were the miracle
and it all went seriously awry
we fantasized we had [...]

Why Raven?

 
Why Raven?

there stands a raven in the rain
liquid-black as molten coal
beside a woman
besot and broken
thoughts so black and molten
outstretched in her anguish
ravin’ in the rain
raven in the rain
why is it that you stand here
so very soaked and sullen
beside this woman so besot
so broken and bereft
heart so black and shattered
ravin’ in the rain
has her ravin’ called [...]

Slithered

The Snake Charmer, Henri Rousseau, 1907
 
Slithered

ever hissing ever hissing
the smooth slithered snake
stealthily winds its slender self
to slowly settle in the shadows
to set its searching sights
on its unsuspecting prey
an ever patient sentry
coiled to seize its precious prize
with surety of purpose
this silent sleek assassin
will strike swift and certain
never missing never missing
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
• linked [...]

Images - a ten year vigil

…lest we ever forget
 

 

 
Images


images
unreal
unfathomable images
the graceful glide
engulfed by the spire
in a roar of golden orange
horribly beautiful
perversely mesmerizing
obscene
devastating images
torrents of humanity
raining down
desperation their only escape
masses of humanity
racing
to outrun the unbelievable
praying
to be delivered from the inconceivable
traumatic images
shrines of free commerce
consumed
by the unbearable weight
of their fragile significance
plummeting to earth
in a cloud of self-destruction
heartbreaking images
screaming
dazed
terrified souls
consumed
by the unbearable weight [...]

Disappearing

 
Disappearing

I now move in the world unseen
I am transparent
a fading glimpse
caught in the darkened corner
of an ever dimming eye
where once I blocked the sun
I am but a shadow
moving between shadows
at the edge of light
without form
once a voice
that thundered ‘cross the distance
called all near to listen
in doing so was heard
now hardly just a whisper
my footsteps
shook the [...]

Clown

 
Clown

I’m the sad little clown with the frowning face
the round red nose and the great big tear
this meek facade and silly sham
belie the horror that I engineer
life’s dealt me cold my hand is slack
not one queen no king nor ace
so violence now dwells in me
masked behind my woeful face
no one suspects the evil soul
that festers [...]

Boldy Go

 
Boldly Go

the great wheel of time
turns ever slow and steadily
its ponderous mass unstoppable
it presses onward mightily
climbs the mortal mountain
bearing the weight of history
of ages and civilizations
borne then razed by its immensity
our lifetimes ride this wheel
how far is but a mystery
locked in fate ’round we go
rolling bold toward hidden destiny
frail temporal beings
of a most amazing bravery
we [...]

Deep Indigo

…written for Day #7, NaPoMo 2011…

Deep Indigo

he wakes
unbidden by alarm
lingers in the darkness
warm neath the blankets
fumbling for the lamp
follows moments of procrastination
before he lifts himself upright
slides feet into slippers
to rise ever so stiffly
from the comfort of bed
pulling on his robe
he ambles to the kitchen
takes a cup from the shelf
pours chamomile tea
brewed ready each morning
by the [...]

Limitless

…limitless talent, unfathomable spirit…

Limitless

• written for Writer’s Island